Emily's Choice
by stormy.grace
Summary: Emily has been through a lot at the hands of A. It's made her stronger, but what will it take to break her?
1. Chapter 1

Emily sat in her car, patiently waiting for Mona to emerge from her therapy session. She was required to see a psychiatrist but, for obvious reasons, no longer permitted to see Dr. Sullivan. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderwaal had decided on an expensive doctor in Philadelphia, but refused to allow Mona to take the train or drive herself. Instead, Mrs. Vanderwaal drove her there and back. But she had a doctor's appointment today and Mona had been forced to ask her friends if one of them could pick her up and drive her back to Rosewood. Emily had been the only one available.

As she waited Emily thought about what Dr. Sullivan had told them the night Mona had been taken to Radley. Mona had a personality disorder and was living in a state of hyper reality, which somehow allowed her to be omnipresent. It made sense until you remembered that Mona claimed she wasn't crazy at all. Emily couldn't help but wonder why she would fake having a personality disorder. Maybe denying it was part of it. Maybe Mona needed to believe she was perfectly sane.

"Hey." Mona said as she slid into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. "Thanks for picking me up."

Emily had been so involved in her thoughts she hadn't seen Mona come out.

"I'm sorry you had to drive all the way out here."

Emily brushed it off with a smile and started the car. "I don't mind. How was it?"

Mona shrugged. "Okay. I like Dr. Sullivan better. This guy patronizes me."

"Have you told your parents?" Emily asked as she turned the car toward home. "Maybe you can find someone else."

"I told them, but they like this guy so I'm stuck with him." Mona explained. "It's not so bad. I get to talk about myself for an hour twice a week."

Emily smiled. The answer was so typically Mona. "Should you even really be doing this? I mean, if you don't need to be medicated…won't the pills he's giving you cause problems?"

"They probably would if I took them." Mona said. "But I don't take them. Unfortunately I have to make everyone believe I do need them and that they're helping me. I can't complain though, because it's my fault."

"It's Ali's fault." Emily corrected her quietly.

Mona smiled and they fell into a comfortable silence as they drove.

Emily tried not to, but she couldn't help thinking about the last few months. First there had been Aria's pregnancy and abortion and all the excitement and drama that had come with it. Then, not long after that Eddie Lamb had raped Spencer and someone had killed Melissa. When Spencer had finally come forward about who had raped her, Eddie had confessed to the rape, Both Wilden and Melissa's murders, and to being A. There hadn't been a trial, despite what Mr. Hastings had promised Spencer. Instead, the girls and their families and friends had attended Eddie's sentencing hearing. He wouldn't be getting out of jail for a long, long time. If ever.

Emily and her friends weren't convinced that Eddie was A, or that he had committed either murder. They were certain that Cece was A, and that Ali was somehow connected, but they couldn't prove it. And no one had heard anything from A since Eddie had been locked up. This fact eased their families' fears, but not theirs.

As a result of everything that had happened with Eddied Spencer had become increasingly paranoid that something would happen to Jason. She stuck to him like glue for a few weeks until he finally convinced her to start seeing Dr. Sullivan again. It seemed to be helping, but she was still keeping an eye on her brother.

And poor Aria was in limbo where her love life was concerned. Jake had broken up with her after Melissa had been killed, obviously fearing that any connection to her or her friends could lead to his own harm. Emily knew that that had hurt, but Aria hadn't spent too much time mourning the loss of the relationship. She was still very much in love with Ezra, and Emily hated watching her struggle with how to handle the situation. She wanted to be with him, but was afraid to. Not only because he was her teacher, but because she now feared for his life.

Emily's phone rang, breaking the silence in the car.

"Could you check that?" Emily asked. "It's probably Paige."

"Sure." Mona chirped and grabbed Emily's purse from the back seat.

She dug around for Emily's phone, but pulled something else out instead. "Em, what's this?"

Emily glanced at the pill bottle in Mona's hand. "Pain pills. For my shoulder."

"I thought your shoulder was better."

"It is. Those are just in case."

"Are you lying to me?" Mona asked. "I know what happened at that swim meet."

"That bottle is full, Mona." Emily said. "I haven't needed them."

Mona opened the bottle and saw that it was indeed full. She was still concerned, but didn't press the issue. She dropped the bottle back into Emily's purse and turned to say something. When she did she saw the car in the next lane suddenly swerve toward them. "Emily!"

Emily saw the car coming, but couldn't react in time. It crashed into the side of her car with enough force to send them into a spin. The offending vehicle sped away and Emily and Mona ended up upside down in a ditch.

"Mona?" Emily called out weakly just before she passed out.

Mona was already unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

The scene outside the Fields home should have made Emily smile, but it didn't. Her friends were gathered on the porch under a welcome home banner. Her dad was home. Paige was there. They were all happy to see her. But she couldn't take her mind off what had happened.

She had gone to pick Mona up from her therapist a few days ago and someone had run them off the road. She had some idea of who that someone was, or might be connected to, but hadn't said anything yet. She didn't want to alarm her parents, as usual.

On top of that, she had torn her rotator cuff in the accident and wouldn't be able to swim for a long time. If ever. The end of the school year was coming up fast and her hopes of getting a college scholarship were shot. Her shoulder was wrapped, her arm was in a sling, and her doctor had told her to avoid pain medication if possible and rest her shoulder as much as possible to avoid re-injury.

What upset her the most was the fact that Mona was still in the hospital in Philadelphia. She had a broken arm, a lacerated liver, and several cuts and bruises. Worst of all, she was in a coma from a head injury.

Emily knew it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't help blaming herself. She had been the one driving. She had apologized to Mona's parents several times at the hospital, and even more to Mona. Her family and friends were all hugging her carefully and welcoming her home, and all she could think about was Mona. She admitted this to the girls when she had a moment alone with them.

"Don't go there, Em." Hanna warned.

"Yeah." Aria added. "This was _not_ your fault, Em."

"Mona's going to be okay." Spencer assured her. "You need to focus on resting and healing."

Emily let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm so tired of hearing that!"

The girls took a step back, all looking surprised at her sudden burst of anger.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry. You're right, Spencer. I do need to rest and heal. I just can't stop thinking about Mona. I think it was A."

"We do too." Aria said.

"Who else could it be?" Spencer asked.

Hanna stepped to the side, setting herself apart from her friends. "Wait. We don't know it was A. It could've been some random drunk guy."

"I don't want to believe it was A either, Hanna." Emily said. "But it had to be. A's not done with us. A will never be done with us."

Spencer stepped forward and laid a reassuring hand on Emily's good arm. "A will be done with us when we figure out exactly what her game is."

"I admire your determination, but you're forgetting that A likes to play with cars." Emily said. "So far you're the only one that hasn't had one thrown at you. Mona and I have twice, and this time A put Mona in a coma she may never come out of. Do we really want to keep playing this game?"

"What game?" Aria demanded. "This isn't a game anymore, Em. A's getting worse, and we have to put a stop to it."

"How?" Emily snapped at her.

Aria shook her head. "I don't know."

"I think maybe Emily's right." Hanna said. "We should just quit. I mean A's stepped up to murder now."

Spencer stared at her.

"I'm sorry, Spence." Hanna said, not sounding very apologetic. "I know you're still hurting over that, but you know it was A that did it. Not Eddie. I'm afraid to think what she might do now if we keep pushing. If Em's right, and it was A that ran her and Mona off the road…"

The girls fell into a heavy silence, all of them thinking what none of them wanted to say. A was not opposed to actually getting rid of them for good.

"This town doesn't need anymore funerals." Emily said quietly. "We have to stop digging or we could end up being buried."

She looked around at her friends. Hanna seemed to be completely on her side, but Aria and Spencer hesitated before agreeing. It was obvious that Spencer wanted to avenge her sister and Aria simply wanted revenge for the hell A had put them all through. Emily wanted both of those things too, but more than that she wanted her shoulder to heal and Mona to come out of the coma A had put her in. They all knew from experience that things would only get worse if they kept up their Nancy Drew act. Emily agreed with Hanna. She knew what A was capable of, and didn't want to see what else she had up her sleeve.


	3. Chapter 3

The final bell rang, but Emily didn't hear it. She was too busy staring out the window and thinking about Mona. She was once again blaming herself for the accident even though she knew it wasn't her fault.

"Emily?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and turned away from the window, staring at Ezra as if she had just been unexpectedly transported to a different world and was looking at an alien. Her big brown eyes were wide, and she looked a little like a deer caught in headlights.

Ezra walked down the aisle and sat on the desk in front of hers. "You weren't paying much attention in class today. Are you okay?"

Emily blinked, thinking that was a stupid question. Obviously she wasn't okay. Nothing was okay. But she knew Ezra wasn't oblivious to the situation. He knew everything now, up until the most recent events, and he probably suspected that A had something to do with the accident. He was simply concerned about her, and he had every right to be. He was her friend after all.

"Emily?" he repeated.

Tears suddenly sprang into her eyes and she fought to keep them from running down her face. "I _hate _A."

Ezra's eyebrows lifted slightly. "A did this? I thought Eddie."

"I know you're not stupid, Ezra." Emily said, casting her usual polite demeanor to the side. "You can't possibly think that Eddie Lamb was really A. He may have been one of Cece's minions, but A is still out there. And I'm pretty sure she wants us dead."

Aria would probably kill her herself when she found out about this conversation, but Emily didn't care right now. She needed to vent to someone, and that someone happened to be Ezra because he was the only one here.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I don't think there's anything we can do." She admitted. "We all want to put a top to all of this, but I don't think there's a way to do that without someone getting hurt. I'm not willing to risk someone else getting killed because we made A mad."

"So you're just giving up?"

Emily shrugged her good shoulder. "What else can we do? Fighting back obviously isn't working. A warned Spencer not to tell, and now Melissa is dead and Mona may never regain consciousness."

"You can't just sit there and do nothing though." Ezra argued, sounding a lot like Spencer and Aria. "I think it's pretty obvious that A isn't going to let it go."

She looked up at him. "You can do something if you want, but I'm done with A. She took away my last hope for a scholarship and I have more important things to focus on than trying to figure out what we did to make Cece hate us."

"Like?"

"Figuring out how I'm going to pay for college." She shot back. "Paige wants me to go to Stanford with her, and I would love to, but there's no way my parents can afford it. I needed that spot on the swim team, and now there's no way I could possibly get it."

"If you need help figuring it out, I'm here."

"Thanks, but right now I have to go see Mona."

"Do you need a ride?"

She had been planning on taking the train, but had to admit that riding with Ezra would make her feel a little safer. Then again, the last time she had been in a car with one of her friends, thinking she was safe, A had shown up out of nowhere and proved just how wrong she had been. "Are you sure you want to risk your life?"

"I'll feel better if I know you're not going by yourself."

She wanted to argue with him, but the look on his face told her it would be useless. She had always thought of Ezra as a fairly docile man, but he clearly had a very protective side and she could suddenly see him going after A, or anyone else, to keep her safe. She agreed to let him come with her because she didn't think she had much choice.

As she followed him out of the classroom she realized that Aria wasn't the only one with a very unusual relationship with their English teacher. Ezra obviously cared about all of his students, but thanks to A, Emily and her friends were definitely at the top of his list. She wondered if any of her other teachers would be willing to risk their lives just to drive her to visit a friend in the hospital, or if Ezra would be willing to do so if he hadn't been involved with Aria.

"You wouldn't be doing this if it weren't for Aria, would you?" she asked.

"Probably not." He admitted.

If nothing had ever happened between them, Emily would just be another student. But because Ezra had been involved with Aria, he had gotten dragged into the whole A game despite Aria's attempts to keep him away from it. That meant he was connected to the girls even if he wasn't with Aria any longer. He knew what was going on and he cared about Emily and her friends. Emily knew he wasn't the type of guy to just sit by and watch. No matter how docile he seemed to be upon first glance.

Mr. Hackett was in the parking lot as they walked out to Ezra's car, but Emily no longer cared if he saw her climbing in or not. Ezra didn't seem to either, but of course, Mr. Hackett had to say something.

"Mr. Fitz, what's going on here?" he asked in an accusatory voice as he walked over to them.

"Emily needed a ride." Ezra stated simply.

"You're her teacher." Mr. Hackett said disapprovingly. "I'm sure she can find one of her friends to give her a ride. Or she can call her mother."

"My mother's at work." Emily replied. "And my friends have already left."

"You don't live far from here." Hackett said.

"I'm not going home." Emily was determined not to let Hackett win this argument. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the situation. There were no rules saying that a teacher couldn't be a decent guy and offer his student a ride. "I'm sure you're aware of the fact that Mona is in the hospital and I can't drive myself."

"You can take the train. A bus."

"Mr. Hackett, nothing wrong is going on here." Ezra said. "I'm simply making sure Emily gets there and back safely. After everything that's happened, do you really want her traveling into the city on her own?"

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you are her teacher." Mr. Hackett insisted.

"And that doesn't excuse the fact that I'm also her friend." Ezra shot back. "You can fire me if you feel you need to, but I can't let Emily go into the city by herself."

Hackett stammered for a while, trying to find something to further his argument and finally gave up. Emily and Ezra climbed into the car and headed for the hospital. Although Ezra had told Hackett to fire him if he felt it necessary, Emily was pretty certain his job was secure. No one could blame him for simply making sure she was safe.

"Remind me to thank Aria for going to that bar." She said, only half joking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Feel free to cry a little while reading this chapter. I did while I was writing it. I think that's a pretty good sign when you can make yourself feel the emotions your characters are feeling.**

Ezra waited outside while Emily went in to Mona's room and shut the door behind her. There was a chair near the bed, but she ignored it and remained standing by Mona's side. She wanted to say something to let Mona know she was there, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out.

If Mona could see herself right now she would be appalled. Her arm was in a cast, she had two black eyes, and there was a bandage on her head where she had hit it on the dash board in the accident. She had hit her head hard enough to put her into a coma. She looked awful, but Emily couldn't take her eyes off Mona's face.

Finally she pulled the chair closer and sat down, reaching with her good arm to take Mona's good hand. She squeezed gently, and although there was no response she knew Mona knew she was there.

"Hi Mona." She said quietly. "It's Emily. Ezra's in the waiting room. He says hi. He drove me down here, and you should've seen the way he stood up to Mr. Hackett when he caught us getting into his car at school. We both did. I'm glad he's on our side.

She paused for a moment, at a loss for words. The room was silent except for the sound of the machines monitoring Mona's vital signs. Emily half expected the line on the heart monitor to go flat and a loud, long beep to come out of it. Followed by a text from A, of course, smugly announcing that she had won.

But Mona's heart didn't stop. It kept beating slow and sure. Mona was unconscious, but she was alive. As long as she was alive A hadn't won. As long as any of them was alive, even if they had given up fighting, A hadn't won.

As she sat in the quiet, fluorescent lighted hospital room she suddenly had an overwhelming urge to tell Mona exactly what she thought of her and how she felt about the situation they had all found themselves in.

"Mona, I know you can hear me and I want you to listen carefully. This is important." She said, her voice strong but not loud. "The other day, before the accident, I told you that all of this was Ali's fault. And it is. I don't think you ever would have become A if it weren't for the way Ali, and the rest of us, treated you. I'm sorry about that. We all are, but it's your fault too. You had a choice. You could have ignored us. Or let it go. But you didn't.

"For whatever reason you felt you needed revenge, and you got it." her voice cracked and she paused to take a breath before continuing. "You tortured us and made our lives miserable for a year. A whole year, Mona. I really don't understand how you could do that to us. I know we were terrible to you, but we didn't deserve what you did to us.

"You keep telling us you're sorry, and I know you are. I forgive you, but I'll never be able to forget. I can try to put it all behind me and be your friend, but it will always be there. You know that, don't you? That's why you keep apologizing. That's why you're trying so hard to earn our forgiveness."

Emily paused as she voiced her realizations. She felt something wet hit her hand and realized that she was crying. She was still holding Mona's hand, and she gave it a gentle squeeze. To her amazement, Mona squeezed back ever so lightly. Emily almost didn't notice it. She gasped, expecting, and hoping that Mona would open her eyes. But she didn't.

"Mona," Emily said in a pleading voice. "Please. You have to wake up. If you don't, A wins. I know you don't want that. You have to fight, and you have to come home. Please. We need your help. We need _you_. I know this isn't my fault, but I still feel guilty. I'm so sorry, Mona. I need to know you understand that. Please…wake up."

Mona showed no signs of having heard a word Emily had said. She didn't move or make a sound. There wasn't even the slightest twitch. Emily let out a shaky breath and stood up, giving Mona's hand one last squeeze. Mona didn't squeeze back.

With a sniff she turned and left the room, walking back to the waiting room where Ezra was reading quietly in a corner. He looked up when she walked into the room as if he sensed her presence and instantly looked alarmed. He jumped out of his chair and rushed over to her.

"Emily, what's wrong?" he asked. "Is Mona okay?"

She nodded, and dug a small package of tissues out of her purse. "Yeah. It's just really hard to see her like that. The same thing could've happened to me."

Ezra put his arms around her and gave her a gentle hug that was only slightly awkward. She hugged him back with her good arm and smiled at him.

"Thanks." She said as they walked out of the hospital and headed back to his car. "Aria's really lucky to have you, Ezra. We all are."

He smiled. "She's lucky to have you too."


	5. Chapter 5

"So Caleb," Paige said, in a voice that sounded like one a reporter might use during an interview, as she sat down beside Emily at their usual lunch table in the cafeteria. "What's it like to be the only guy at a table full of beautiful women?"

Caleb sucked a breath in through his teeth. "I feel like the luckiest guy in the cafeteria."

They were all in their usual seats with Caleb and Paige at ether end of the table. Hanna and Emily sat on one side, with Aria and Spencer across from them. The space between Aria and Caleb where Mona usually squeezed in was glaringly empty and Emily noticed the sad way Aria glanced at it as she took her seat.

"You look awfully excited." Emily said, nudging Spencer with her foot under the table.

Spencer grinned. "I am. I have good news."

"Did Toby propose?" Hanna teased.

Aria and Emily exchanged laughing glances. Spencer rolled her eyes at Hanna.

"No." she said. "I got a letter from UPenn yesterday."

Aria grabbed Spencer's arm, her naturally large eyes wider in excitement. "Spence! Why didn't you tell us?"

Spencer pulled an envelope out of her bag. "Because I haven't opened it yet. My parents wanted me to, but I wanted to open it with you guys."

"Open it!" Paige urged.

"Drum roll please. "Spencer said nervously as she prepared to open the envelope.

Caleb tapped out a small drum solo on the surface of the table as she ripped open the envelope and pulled out the contents. They all watched eagerly, all of them hoping for the same result as Spencer scanned the letter.

"Well?" Hanna demanded.

Spencer looked up, her eyes sparkling. "I got in."

Everyone cheered and applauded, and Aria leaned over and gave her a big hug.

Emily was happy for her friend, of course, but she was a little sad at the same time. She looked around the table at each of her friends. Spencer had just been accepted to her dream school, Aria had recently gotten in to Hollis, which didn't surprise anyone, Caleb wasn't particularly interested in going to college although he was playing with the idea of applying to some computer schools, Hanna was waiting to hear from the Fashion Institute in New York, and Paige was going to Stanford on a swimming scholarship. Even Mona, who was in a coma, had a definite idea of what she wanted. Like Hanna, she had applied to the Fashion Institute, but she was also planning on going to business school.

Emily was the only one that had no idea what her future might hold. Until A had run her off the road, she had hoped that she might still have a chance at getting the last spot on the Stanford swim team. Paige had asked her to come with her and had even designed their dorm room. Emily had been really excited about the idea, and had day dreamed about living in California with Paige a lot lately. But now she wasn't sure what was going to happen. With her shoulder torn up again, she couldn't swim, and that meant no scholarship. Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Hastings, her parents couldn't afford to send her to college without a scholarship unless she wanted crazy student loans that would likely take her years to pay off.

"What's wrong, Em?" Spencer asked. "You look sad."

"I am a little." She admitted. This certainly wasn't something she had to hide from the people she was closest to. "I was just thinking about how you all know where you're going, or at least what you want, and I'm in limbo over here because of A."

Her friends all gave her sympathetic, understanding looks.

Hanna gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don't worry, Em. You'll figure it out."

"Why don't you go talk to Ezra after school?" Aria suggested. "I'm sure he'd be happy to help."

"We talked about it some on Friday." Emily said. "We talked about a lot of things actually."

She hadn't seen her friends this weekend because she had holed up in her room as soon as Ezra had dropped her off after their visit to Mona. It was Tuesday and she still hadn't bothered to tell them that he had given her a ride or that the two of them had basically told Mr. Hackett to get a life.

"He told me about your trip to Philly." Aria said.

"Wait." Hanna said. "You and Ezra went to Philly? Why?"

"I went to see Mona." Emily explained. "I was planning on taking the train, but I spilled my guts about A and he thought I would be safer, or at least feel safer if he drove me."

"Did you?" Hanna asked.

"Yeah." Emily nodded. "We talked about a lot on the way there and on the way back."

Caleb and Paige, who didn't have much contact with Ezra outside of class, both looked a little uncomfortable. Both of them looked as if they were afraid someone would overhear the conversation and someone would get in trouble. Emily and the girls were way passed that stage by now.

Emily looked at Aria. "I'm really glad you met him in that bar before school started last year. I know it's caused a lot of trouble and stress for both of you, but I think it's been a lot more good than bad."

Aria smiled. "I know it has. I wouldn't trade one second of our relationship. I'm glad you have someone else you can confide in."

"How is Mona?" Paige asked, obviously wanting to steer the conversation away from the dangerous subject of the girls' personal relationships with their English teacher.

"About the same." Emily said. "I talked to her for a long time. I told her exactly how I feel about her and everything that's happened to us, and she squeezed my hand."

Hanna perked up at this. "Really?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah. I barely felt it, and it was the only sign of life other than the monitors, but I think she'd going to be okay. At least I know she hear me."

"It could've just been a spasm or something." Caleb suggested.

"Maybe, but I don't think so." Emily argued gently. "I really think she was trying to let me know she heard me."

Spencer refolded her UPenn letter and tucked it back in the envelope. "Don't worry, Em. Mona will be just fine. And I have no doubt that you will figure out your college situation."

Emily smiled at her. "Thanks."

She suddenly felt like the lucky one at the table. She may be in a crappy situation regarding college and the whole A/Ali thing, but at least she had this wonderful little support group of people that loved her and encouraged her. Some people didn't have that.


	6. Chapter 6

Mona had been in a coma for a month now and Emily wasn't the only one that was tired of traveling back and forth to visit her. Every weekend Emily, Spencer, Hanna, and Aria boarded a train to Philadelphia and sat in Mona's room for at least an hour, filling her in on the general gossip and happenings around town or simply chatting about nothing in particular. Sometimes Ezra, Toby, and Paige would join them, although usually not all at once. Caleb never went. Although he did worry about her and the effect the situation was having on Hanna and the others, he still wasn't on the best of terms with Mona.

Today, a Saturday, everyone had decided to go. Emily sat on a bench at the train station between Paige and Jason, who seemed to feel the same way about Mona that Caleb did. Spencer and Toby were across from them, and Aria and Ezra were off in a corner still trying to figure out their relationship status. The only one missing was Hanna and everyone was surprised when she arrived with Caleb.

"What are you doing here?" Emily asked, hoping she didn't sound rude.

"Everyone else is making an effort to forgive her, but me." Caleb replied. "I figure I should at least try. She out you girls through way worse than any of the rest of us, and if you can put that behind you then I should be able to too."

Hanna wrapped her arms around him, obviously proud of his decision.

The train arrived and they all managed to find seats together. As usual most of the trip went by silently, but as they neared their destination Jason broke the silence.

"Have you decided what you want to do about college, Emily?" he asked out of the blue.

His random question threw her off for a moment, but she nodded, flashing Ezra, who had been a huge help with her decision, a quick smile. "Yeah. I'm taking a year off. It's not really what I want to do, but I think it's the best choice at the moment."

She had already discussed this with her friends and family, but apparently Spencer hadn't passed the information along. Emily wondered if that meant she was finally easing up a little. She understood that she was worried about Jason after what had happened to Melissa, but she couldn't help thinking that he probably felt a little smothered by her at times.

Jason seemed to approve of her choice, as everyone else had, and for some reason this sparked a conversation in the group that got them through the last few minutes of their journey.

When they arrived at the station in Philadelphia they walked the distance from the station to the hospital in a mostly double file line, with Emily and Hanna at the front and Spencer sandwiched between Toby and Jason bringing up the rear. They all chattered and somehow found things to laugh and smile about on the way, but as soon as they stepped through the hospital doors their mood turned more somber. It was as if they had suddenly remembered the reason for their little field trip. They made their way to Mona's room and found her parents in the waiting room outside.

Mr. and Mrs. Vanderwaal's presence wasn't unusual since Mona was their daughter, but the news they shared shocked everyone. Apparently, after a month of waiting for Mona to recover, they had decided to give up hope. They were talking to a doctor about signing a Do Not Resuscitate form and unhooking Mona's feeding tubes and monitors.

"What?" Aria and Spencer demanded.

Hanna let out a small cry and sank into a nearby chair. Caleb rushed to her side. Ezra, Toby, Paige, and Jason all stood there staring at the Vanderwaals, none of them sure how to react.

"You can't do that!" Emily cried.

Mrs. Vanderwaal gave Emily a sympathetic look. "Emily, we appreciate your concern, but we certainly _can_. She's our daughter."

"But she's eighteen." Spencer said weakly.

"She can't make any decisions for herself." Mr. Vanderwaal said. "We're her legal guardians, so the choice is up to us."

"But she's your daughter." Emily argued. "How can you do this? She'll _starve_."

"We don't think she's going to get any better." Mrs. Vanderwaal said, obviously trying not to upset anyone further, but failing miserably. "We know you all care for her, and we really do appreciate that, but we simply can't stand to see her like this anymore."

"We are only considering the option." Mr. Vanderwaal added. "We haven't actually decided yet."

Emily took one look at his wife and could see that she had most definitely made up her mind. She wanted to do this. No matter what her reasons or logic, Emily couldn't get past the fact that Mrs. Vanderwaal was essentially deciding to kill her daughter. Her only child. How could she even consider that with such a calm attitude?

"We can't let them do this." Emily said to her friends once Mona's parents had left. "She _will_ get better. We can't let them kill her. If they do this…"

She trailed off, unable to speak the words. She looked at Aria and Spencer and then at Hanna, who was still recovering from the shock in her chair. None of them spoke a word, but Emily knew they were thinking the same thing she was. If Mona was taken off her life support, she would certainly die. If she died, A had won this round. No matter what they had agreed on a month ago, none of them was ready to let A have quite that much power over them.

**Emily's choice was going to be about college, but I just watched a Law & Order episode about a man in a coma and the fight to save Mona suddenly seemed a little more appealing than debating how to handle Emily's college problem.**


	7. Chapter 7

Emily wished at least one of the others had come with her as she climbed the steps to Mona's front porch. Aria and Spencer had said they wanted to come when Emily had called them. A united front would certainly be more effective, but they had already had plans. Hanna hadn't said whether or not she wanted to come, but had made up some excuse and then told Emily that they should probably listen to Spencer's mom.

Spencer had called her mother as soon as Mr. and had left after dropping the DNR bomb on them. Veronica had answered only to inform Spencer that she couldn't talk right then. She was in the middle of wrapping up a stressful case and needed to focus. They had spent their usual hour with Mona, although none of them was feeling very talkative, and had gone home with a cloud of sadness and shock hanging over them.

Emily, Aria, and Hanna had gone home with Spencer to wait for one of her mother. When she arrived, clearly exhausted from work, they had pounced on her. They had told her about what had happened at the hospital and asked if there was anything they could do to stop Mona's parents from killing her. Veronica had understood where they were coming from and agreed that the Vanderwaals seemed to be acting a little prematurely. She warned them that it was a long shot, but told them she would see if he could get a court order against the DNR in Mona's interest.

It had been a short court battle, and they had lost. The judge had sided with the Vanderwaals, ruling that they were right. Mona was their daughter, and although she was eighteen she was clearly incapable of making a decision. Therefore the choice was in her parents' hands.

The verdict didn't sit well with any of the girls, and Spencer had mentioned the fact that Mrs. Vanderwaal hadn't shown any emotion through the whole ordeal. Mr. Vanderwaal however, had shed a few tears on the stand when he had explained their reasons for wanting the DNR.

"I don't think he wants to do it." Spencer had said when Emily suggested trying to talk some sense into the Vanderwaals. "He's probably our best shot. Mrs. Vanderwaal can't do anything if he doesn't agree."

Emily had gone to see Mona by herself after that conversation and had begged Mona for some sign that she would pull through. She had broken down and cried, telling Mona that she couldn't give up yet. She was almost certain that if she could give the Vanderwaals even the slightest glimmer of hope that Mona would eventually wake up, then maybe they wouldn't do it.

Suddenly she had been overcome by a feeling she couldn't explain. Mona didn't move or utter the tiniest peep, and there was no change in her monitors. She showed absolutely no signs of waking up any time soon, but Emily had an undeniable feeling in her gut that everything would be okay. She couldn't explain how if asked, but she knew Mona was going to come out of this coma that Emily still blamed herself for. She was almost certain she had heard Mona's voice telling her not to worry, that she was okay and would be back soon, even though Mona hadn't said a word.

Now, as she rang the doorbell, she was prepared to tell Mona's parents what she had felt in that hospital room and beg them not to take any desperate measures.

Mr. Vanderwaal answered the door and greeted her with a surprised look. "Emily! Hello."

"Hi." Emily said, suddenly feeling a little nervous and like she was intruding where she didn't belong. But she shoved that feeling aside and mentally steeled herself for the battle she knew was about to start. "I need to talk to you. Is Mrs. Vanderwaal home?"

"Yes." He replied, looking baffled but stepping aside to let her in. "Come in."

Emily stepped inside the home she had never once entered and hoped she could make the Vanderwaals see it her way. She knew what she was about to tell them would be hard for them to understand. She didn't totally understand it herself, but she had to try. Ever since A had run them off the road, Emily had felt a fierce loyalty toward Mona and a need to protect her. And that's exactly what she planned to do. Protect her from her own parents' too quick judgment and from A. he simply didn't feel like it was Mona's time to go yet.


End file.
